Changing Lives
by harligrace
Summary: Gracie's move from New Zealand to England leaves her shattered, especially after her brothers death, but she's determined to change her life. What she doesn't realise is that she changes others lives too, especially that of Sirius Black.
1. Malformed Mayhem

"That was Francine on the phone."

"Oh, shit," was all I could say back.

That, of course, was the moment I realised that maybe, just maybe, I'd screwed up big time.

I stared at her, she stared at me. There was a predatory gleam in her eyes, and I couldn't help thinking that that was most definitely not how a mother should look at her daughter. In that instance, I feared for my life. Truly. But then a different look shone in her eyes, one that was perhaps even worse. The 'thinking' look. And suddenly I was really, really worried. This was typical of my Mother, she'd have an idea, think it over thoroughly and firmly make up her mind in the space of about two seconds. And this looked set to be one of those times. Shit. So, what had she decided?

"We're moving back to England." Wait, what?

"Nooo..." I said, drawing out the syllable, confusion slapped across my face.

"Yes." She nodded firmly to prove her point.

"No!"

"I'm your Mother, I get final say. And that say is yes."

Well, that was my life ruined.

So. England. Yeah.

All I have to say is that our house is gorgeous. So far, that's been the one good thing about London. Hell, about England in general. Well, that and the guys. Who knew that London was hiding all the completely gorgeous guys in the world? I mean, not that I'm looking or anything, but every time I step outside of our house I can easily find at least three smoking hot guys to ogle at any one point in time. Honestly, I mean any time. Like right now; cute blonde dude walking his dog, hot guy with glasses standing outside the house next to ours and one of the guys Mum hired to carry our furniture. His name was Vladimir and he was from, you guessed it, Russia. Best accent ever.

So, it was my first day in London, and I was standing outside our new house grappling with a huge box destined for my brand-spanking new bedroom. I wasn't sure what exactly it contained. The box, I mean. It had just been the first one I could find in the truck that had my name written on the top. From the weight of it, it was my books, or at least, some of them.

Finally managing to get a steady grip on it, I walked up to the gleaming white door of my new home. Home. What a strange word. But yes, I was determined to call it that, even if this (admittedly beautiful) house didn't feel like it yet. Moving away from New Zealand was hard, but I was determined to make the best of the situation.

Sighing, I looked behind me and smiled at Mum, who was talking with the guy in the moving truck. She caught my eye and gave me a tight lipped smile back, which was the only type of one I'd been getting from her lately, because of the whole 'sex-drugs-partying' thing. That was the entire reason we moved here, after all. I couldn't even be mad at her for being angry at me, because I know she's right... That's definitely the worst part.

But anyway, because I know I did some pretty messed up things, I made a list of rules that I have decided to follow to the letter. These especially apply to school (which I start tomorrow), so I must follow them all day every day. And I will, because, strange as it may sound, I don't want to let my Mother down again. So my rules are as follows;

1) Do not get involved with any guys. This was the main reason Mum had freaked out, because she found out about all my previous boyfriends and that most people called me a slut behind my back. I deserved it too, so I've decided to not be a tease. I will not sleep with, date, or even so much as flirt with any male at Hogwarts.

2) Do not go to any parties. Ever. Just don't.

3) Stop smoking. Pretty self-explanatory, I guess. I know that smoking is terrible for you, but it's also very addictive, obviously.

4) Stop drinking. Again, pretty simple.

5) Make proper friends. I'd only had one good friend in New Zealand, and she'd ended up stabbing me in the back. So, I'm going to pick my friends a tad more carefully.

6) Try out for the Quidditch team. My school back in New Zealand had a pathetic team, and I didn't bother joining as I knew it was a lost cause. I played a lot of Quidditch with my Dad when I was growing up, though, so I'm pretty good. Flying's one of my passions.

I feel like there should be more rules for me to follow, but I can only think of six. Oh well. I'll add to it as I go.

Shoving open the door with my backside, I gasped when I saw the interior of our house. It was even more beautiful from the inside than out.

The first room you walked into was small, with gleaming marble floors and crisp white walls. The marble flooring continued out into what could only be called a grand entrance room. And oh my god there were staircases. Two of them, curling up on either side of a kind of platform that overhangs over the room slightly. Well, all the bedrooms were upstairs, which was where I needed to go, so I walked in wonderment over to the stairs and began my ascent. I felt like royalty.

My room, I discovered, was the only room in the house that didn't have white walls. While I was somewhat glad about that, I was dismayed to see that they were orange, which was actually my least favourite colour. My bed had already been set up in one corner, and I dropped the box onto it before walking to the window seat. Yes, I said window seat. Mum had managed to transfigure the house a bit, and it was nice to know that she'd listened when I asked for a nice sunny place to read. Although 'sunny' might be a stretch seeing as we're in England and all. Sitting, I gazed out of the window, and realised I was staring straight into someone else's house. Well. Not the best view. Maybe ten metres away was the house of our next door neighbours, the Peters, I think Mum had said. I sighed and sat in the seat, resting my head on the glass and staring at the sky. Overcast. It was always sunny in New Zealand. Hardly ever rained. Here, it was the opposite.

Dinner that night was a horrible affair. Mum had thought it was a good idea to invite some of Dads colleagues from the Ministry over, so we were stuck at a table with prissy purebloods who were subtly rude to us the entire evening. The Malfoys, they were called. I only remember their name because I was thinking that it sounded like 'malformed', or 'malfunction', which are both words with negative connotations. Their family was a negative connotation, alright, and I think they were trying to set me up with their son. His name was... What was it? Lucian, maybe? Merlin I'm bad with names. But he was devastatingly handsome, so I was polite to him throughout the evening. When I excused myself, his parents sent him up with me 'to help me pack'; as that was the excuse I'd used to get away. Mum looked worried, but she couldn't be rude. It was true, though; I needed to pack for my new school, (yay) Hogwarts, which started the next day. I would be flooing with Mum to King's Cross and catching some kind of train out into the middle of no-where, or wherever the school was, so I didn't have a lot of time to pack. I hadn't even settled in yet and I was leaveing already.

Pulling out my huge suitcase from the closet I'd only just filled, I turned to the Malfoy boy with a polite smile on my face. I couldn't help but imagine him topless for a second.

"So," I asked. "Did you go to Hogwarts?"

"Yes," he practically purred. "I finished a few years ago, actually."

"Oh," I said. So he was quite a bit older... Oh well, I could deal with that. "Is it... Nice, there?" He tweaked an eyebrow up at me, leaning on the doorframe and folding his arms. So much for helping me pack.

"It can be, if you're friends with the right people." I glanced at him knowingly. My old school had been just like that. Popularity was everything, and if you weren't 'cool', the ones who were would make your life a living hell.

"Right." I said bluntly. While I sorted through my clothes, wondering which would be good to bring, I searched my mind for another conversation starter. "Oh," I said suddenly. "My Mum said you get sorted into Houses?" I looked at Malfoy quizzically.

"Yes," He said smoothly. "There's four Houses, each which value a different set of skills. Believe it or not, a talking hat decides which House you get put into." I raised my eyebrows at him and he smirked back at me. That was definitely a good smirk. I noticed he'd taken a step closer, he was no longer leaning in the door frame but standing only a handful of steps away.

"Well, that should be fun." I didn't bother asking anything else, Mum would tell me or I'd just find out when I got there. I turned my attention back to my clothes, trying to ignore the blonde guy getting steadily closer. I forced myself not to look at him, telling myself that I would not do anything at all to break my no.1 rule.

"How old are you, Gracie?" I looked at him sharply, warning him off with my eyes. I must stick to my rules! I stepped towards him, folding my arms across my chest and taking an angry stance. He just looked amused.

"I'm only sixteen," I said coldly.

"Well, I'm only nineteen," he said seductively. His sleek blonde hair trailed down to his shoulders and his ice-blue eyes were staring straight into mine, gleaming with triumph. I noticed I'd leaned in towards him and dropped my arms, no longer looking angry. He knew he had me. Brushing a hand across my cheek, he pulled me closer with the other, wrapping it firmly around my waist. Oh god.

"Gracie," I heard my Mother call. I leapt away from Malfoy, just as she walked into the room. "Come and say goodbye to our guests."

"Ok," I muttered. Malfoy walked out after her and I followed, trying to calm my blushing cheeks.

After all the pleasant goodbyes had been exchanged, Mum turned to me.

"Lucius seemed nice," she said, plainly suspecting something.

"Oh, that was his name?" I said innocently. "He was ok, I guess." She seemed satisfied with that, and wandered off after my Father.

I went up to my room and finished packing, a lot on my mind.


	2. Glasses and Fake Tan

A gleaming sliver bear woke me up that morning by sticking its nose in my ear. I jumped awake, freaking out before I realised it was only Mums patronus. She hadn't used that method of waking me up for a long time; she must be in a good mood today.

I dressed swiftly and ran down the stairs to the kitchen where, to my surprise, both my parents were sitting at the table eating their breakfast. Usually Mum and I were left alone to eat, while Dad worked in his office, but today they must be making an effort. Mum certainly looked as though she was enjoying it; her blonde hair was in loose waves half way down her back, her cheeks were rosy and her eyes gleamed with joy as she said good morning. She was fairly glowing. Dad on the other hand, well, he looked tired, as always. But when he smiled at Mum, I spotted a little twinkle in his eyes that said he was happy. I couldn't help but wonder what the occasion was. Maybe the fact that I was going? This soured me up a little, and I grabbed a bit of toast and strolled outside to eat it.  
Our backyard was very pretty, in my opinion, but we were squished between two houses, so it wasn't very private. The part I really loved was the fact that it backed into an actual forest. Well, not really a forest, but a lovely patch of trees that was almost big enough to call a forest. Maybe you'd call it a Wood? I decided that I'd have to explore it someday, but not today. I sat on the little swing attached to a tree instead and ate my toast slowly. When I finished, I went back inside to pack a few last things before we left for Kings Cross.

Back up in my room, I spotted some movement in the house next door and decided to be nosy. I grabbed a book and sat in the window seat, pretending to read. Sneaking a glance into the house next door, I realised that someone over there was doing the exact thing I'd been doing a moment ago; packing. He was cute; I realised I'd seen him the morning before when I was unpacking the truck and he'd waved at me. He had the most adorable hair that stuck up every which way, but the downside was that he wore glasses. That was a major turnoff for me. I spent a few more seconds stealing looks at him, then hopped up and began to drag my luggage down stairs to the fireplace.

Turns out Mum had been waiting for a while already, and I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to the house before she hustled me into the fireplace and shouted 'Bertholds Books!' We went up in a puff of green-tinged smoke and after a strange burning sensation we stepped out into a shop filled to the brim with used books. My mouth formed a little 'o' but before I could leap in Mum dragged me out of the shop and into the bustling city of London. Though it was much larger than Auckland, the streets weren't any more crowded and it wasn't any more intimidating than New Zealands largest city, so I wasn't as lost as I thought I would be. Everything looked older though, and it was all made out of bricks. I barely had time to take it in, though, as Mum was already dragging me along into a huge train station that I guessed was Kings Cross. It took us forever to work out how to get to platform 9 3/4 so when we finally made it through we were on the verge of being late. I hurried on board and blew Mum a kiss, and she waved me off with tears in her eyes.

It was only when I sat in an empty compartment that I realised I wouldn't see her for months. I think I was in shock. We'd been in such a rush that I'd forgotten to say goodbye properly, I hadn't even given her a hug. How did I even get to this compartment? I realised that it was all a big blur, and that only half an hour had passed since I was up in my room, sneaking a peek at the boy next door. It had only been a week since I was in New Zealand, mucking around on the beach with friends. Everything was different now. I wondered what Charlie would say to that? I felt a tear leak out of my eye and I swiped it away angrily. Crying is for babies, I told myself firmly.

After a long while, my thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on the door of the compartment. I looked up, into the brilliant green eyes of a gorgeous redhead looking at me questioningly.

"Do you mind if we come sit with you?" She asked pleasantly, and I noticed another girl standing behind her who was significantly shorter with brown hair and eyes. "Some boys have taken over our compartment and we, well..." She trailed off. I nodded eagerly.

"Sure!" I said, happy to have the company. I hated being alone. "Happy to help." As the two girls came and sat opposite me, I smiled charmingly at them. The redhead smiled back enthusiastically and asked my name.

"Gracie Lewis," I replied. "And you two?"

"Lily Evans," said the redhead. "And this is Mary MacDonald." The smaller girl looked meekly up and mumbled a greeting, which I returned politely. "So, Gracie..." Lily began. "Are you new to Hogwarts?"

"Yeah, I am actually," I said back. "Any tips?" Lily giggled slightly.

"Just be nice to everyone," she said. "You never know who'll hex you if you step on their toes."

"But just stay away from all Slytherins," Mary piped up.

"Mmhm," Lily mumbled. I was sure my confusion showed on my face. Slytherins? What the hell were they? Was that one of the houses, maybe? "That's a very good point." She finished. I opened my mouth to ask why, but Lily broke into a smile.

"So where's that accent from? Australia?" She asked before I could say anything. I sighed mentally.

"New Zealand, actually." My voice was flat. I hated the fact that some people thought New Zealand and Australian accents sounded the same. They were quite obviously different to me, and I definitely didn't want to be mistaken for an Auzzie.

"Really?" Lily said in wonderment. "When did you move here? Did you live in New Zealand all your life? What's it like there?" Soon I was grinning again as I answered all her questions, along with a few of Marys, and I felt like I knew them both a little better by the time the train pulled up into what must be the Hogwarts station.

Lily seemed to have taken over the task of being my Mother for the time being, and she pulled me along behind her as we wandered over to a line of horseless carriages. Or at least, I thought they were horseless. As we drew nearer, I realised I could see the vague outline of a huge creature, and I blinked, feeling the need to rub my eyes. When we were a few steps away, the thing give a little shimmer, and suddenly I could see it. It was marvellous. The thing was taller than any horse I'd ever seen, and a dark, sooty grey colour. But its wings were the most amazing part. They were huge and bony, like bats wings, and covered with the sort of loose skin that covered the rest of its body. The creature looked like a skeleton, but not unhealthily so. No, it looked magnificent.

"Lily," I breathed, tugging at her sleeve. "What is that thing?" Realising what I meant, she looked at me sadly.

"You can see them?" She asked, pity colouring her voice.

"Yeees," I said, drawing out the syllable in confusion. Lily sighed.

"Come," she said, pulling me closer to the carriage. "I'll tell you on the way."

As we settled in, just me, Lily and Mary, a rowdy bunch of five (it took me a moment to realise it, but one was a girl, the others boys) began to clamber into our carriage too. They quickly realised, with the help of Lilys frustrated shouts, that they wouldn't all fit, so two of them grumpily strode away. The three remaining sat opposite us, and as Lily was glaring at them, I tried to distract her.

"So what were you saying before, Lily?" I said over the playful banter of the others. I rolled my eyes at them, but looking more closely, I realised that I recognised one of them. Looking away, I hoped he wouldn't recognise me and force me into their conversation, but my luck had run out.

"Hey, didn't you just move in next door to me?" Said the one with glasses. I sighed and looked at him.

"Yeah, I did, actually." I felt the others eyes on my and willed myself not to go red. It had taken all my willpower not to notice that the guy sitting next to the one with glasses was the hottest guy I'd ever seen in my entire life. Of course, I hadn't noticed that. Not at all.

"Where are you from?" he asked innocently.

"New Zealand," I said patiently.

"Love the accent," the hot one said. I glanced at him with a cheeky grin on my face.

"Why thank you," I said, somewhat flirtily. Oh god what have I done? Did I just break my first rule? No, that didn't count as flirting, not at all. Not even close. Nope.

"When did you move here?" Hottie asked, an undeniable smirk on his face.

"Uh, yesterday, actually. I've been in England for a grand total of two days."

"Wow, harsh," said the girl on the other side of glasses. "Not much time to settle in, then?"

"No, but I'll manage," I said, smiling at her politely. She was pretty; not a patch on Lily, but still very pretty. Her hair was cut in a short, dark brown bob, and her eyes were hazel. Her skin was far more tanned than it had any right to be, living in England, so I figured either it was fake or she went on holiday recently.

"Do you need anyone to, uh, show you 'round the school?" Hottie said. I looked at him, and realised that he was totally coming on to me. And also that he was gorgeous. His hair was long and dark, resting on his shoulders, and his eyes were as grey as the bloody English sky. I think the structure of his face was what really drew me in, though... His jawline was perfectly straight, leading my eyes up to cheekbone that could cut glass. His nose was the best part though. He had the most perfect nose in all of existence, it was... Heavenly. Just amazing. He was so flawless looking that was it took all of my strength to say what I said next.

"No, thank you." I heard Lily sigh in relief, and I knew I'd done the right thing. She turned to me and smiled.

"Anyway, Gracie, I was telling you about the Thestrals. They-"

"Can you see them?" Tanned-girl asked excitedly. I nodded, still confused.

"Can't you?" I asked. Lily cut in and the Tanned-girl shook her head.

"Only those who've 'seen death' can see Thestrals." I felt the blood drain from my face.

"So who've you seen die?" Glasses asked enthusiastically. Tanned-girl slapped him on the leg, seeing the look on my face.

"My brother," I mumbled. Memories shifted in my mind, wriggling around, shedding the dust that had covered them for years. Screams, thrashing bodies, then Charlies face. Unblinking. Dead.

No one said anything, but Lily rested an arm comfortingly on mine, and I was suddenly glad I'd met her. She seemed like a genuinely nice person. With a jolt, the carriage stopped, and jumping out, I got my first full view of the castle. All my earlier, depressing thoughts were thrown out the window as I gazed up at the magnificent castle resting on top of a slight hill. It was huge, and I could at least ten towers, the largest of which was probably the tallest thing I'd ever seen. It was probably a hundred times bigger than my old school, which was a cluster of about eight rooms.

"It's gorgeous," I breathed. Lily grinned at me, and Glasses slapped my back as he got out of the carriage.

"It's a pretty amazing place," he said. "You're lucky you got to come here."

Dinner had been a dramatic affair, what with all the food, and the speeches. Each house had its own table, and seeing as I hadn't been sorted yet, I just stuck with Lily at the Gryffindor table. She gave me some background information on the school, and explained how members were chosen for each house. I had no doubt in my mind now that Lucius had been in Slytherin, and I knew that I didn't want to be in there. Oh, and I learnt names! It took me the entire dinner to get them straight, but Tanned-girl was Sandra, and she was the third female Gryffindor Seventh Year, and shared a dorm with them. She'd only been hanging with the guys because she recently began dating one of them. Glasses, Lily told me, was one of the most annoying, big-headed prats in this school, and his name was James Potter. Mary quietly told me about their history together, and I couldn't stop laughing for a long time after that. Hottie, the one I'd thankfully turned down was Sirius Black, the schools resident man-whore, as Sandra had nicknamed him. He was notorious for cheating on girlfriends, and breaking their hearts. He sounded like a nasty character to me, so I vowed to stay away from him. (Although I must admit he sounded like a male version of me.)

The other two boys in their group, or the 'Marauders' as they apparently called themselves, were Peter and Remus. They were both blonde haired, though Remus was more of a honey blonde, while Peters hair was straw coloured. I noted that Remus was totally adorable, and covered in scars, which I happened to love on a guy. Sadly, when Sandra saw me staring at him, she slapped me on the thigh and told me harshly that he was hers. I backed off after that.

After dinner, a tall guy came up to me and relayed the message that Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster, wanted to see me in his office. I thanked him, and abruptly realised that I had no idea where that was, so I asked Lily to give me directions. She did, but after trying unsuccessfully to follow them, I came to the conclusion that I was thoroughly lost. I thanked Merlin when someone rounded the corner and walked down the corridor.

"Excuse me," I called, and immediately regretted it. The badge on his robes said 'Slytherin' and he didn't look as though he was in a good mood. I felt in my back pocket for my wand, and kept my hand on it casually, just in case.

"What?" The boy snarled. I couldn't help but think he was somewhat familiar... Yes, he looked a lot like Sirius. Brother, perhaps?

"Sorry to bother you, but could you lead me to the headmasters office? I'm completely lost."

"Fine," the boy said after a sigh of annoyance. I, however, sighed in relief.

After a rather awkward few minutes, the boy dropped me off in front of a massive niche filled with a statue. He explained how it worked before slinking back to where he came from.

Remembering that the messenger from earlier had said something about gummy snakes, I tried that, and was relieved to find that it was the password. The statue turned, and a staircase rose up from nowhere. I began to climb, and when I reached the top I knocked on the large wooden door standing in my way. A voice from the other side said 'enter' and pushing the door open, I walked into the office of Professor Dumbledore, my mind full of thoughts about the different Houses and which I might be in.

"You are Gracie Lewis, I presume?" Startled, I looked for the voice and noticed the Professor standing on the top level of his little office.

"Yes, Professor." I said back, standing with my hands behind my back. I had already decided that the Professor was nothing short of wonderful, just from his speech at dinner, so I was more nervous about my sorting than meeting him personally.

"Please, come up here and your sorting shall commence." As quickly and quietly as I could, I walked up the little stairs on the side of the room and joined the Professor. He had pulled out a little stool, and upon it sat a wrinkled old hat. I looked at Professor Dumbledor questioningly. I'd seen the first years being sorted before Dinner, so I presumed I just slapped on my head and sat, but who knows?

"Do I just do as the first years did?" I asked, just in case. Professor Dumbledores bright blue eyes were twinkling merrily.

"Yes, child." Well then. Picking up the hat, I sat on the stool and placed it firmly on my head.

To my surprise, it spoke, but not out loud. I could hear it in my mind, and I could feel the hat rummaging through my thoughts and memories, making notes as it found things that may help it decide my House.

"Hmm, brave," it said slowly. "But a strong sense of self preservation, not one who would risk your life over something stupid, then. Very loyal, good friend, Hufflepuff could really bring that out in you..." I almost rolled my eyes. Being friendly wouldn't help me in life. "Ooh, feisty," the hat thought, and I could practically hear it grin. "You definitely have a streak of Slytherin in you. Quite a large streak, actually... But no, your sense of wrong and right, good and evil is too well ingrained in you. You wouldn't do well in Slytherin, you'd just... Turn bad, so to speak." I opened my mouth to say something, but shook my head instead, thinking my thoughts to the hat.

"In other words I'm not evil enough?"

"Yes, but your competitiveness and will to go far in life are certainly Slytherin qualities. There are more, too." There was a pause before the hat spoke again. "Ahh, and here's the Ravenclaw in you. You're definitely intelligent, yes... Perhaps not too motivated, but the brains are there." I felt him dig a little deeper. "Oh, you have some hidden depth, here girlie," The hat said. I frowned. "You are far more intelligent than I thought," It said slowly. "And here is all the courage. You are braver than most, certainly, and that is a Gryffindor trait. You hide your true emotions, letting the unimportant ones float to the surface and overwhelm you, again Gryffindor. You would do anything to protect someone you love and-oh, what's this? You would do anything, would sacrifice everything to bring back a certain someone..." I felt tears well in my eyes. I would do anything to bring him back.

"Ahh..." The hat said softly. "More emotion. That's Hufflepuff. They have the ability to feel deeply for those they care about. But no... That won't work. You are too fierce. Gryffindor. Yes, it had better be Gryffindor!" He said the last word aloud, for Professor Dumbledores benefit. I stood, smiling slightly and feeling a bit wobbly and removed the hat from my head. I politely placed it back down on the stool and looked at the Professor.

"What now?" I asked innocently. I didn't want to think about the things I'd heard from the hat, so I just focused on the fact that I was put in one house that I'd already made friends in. Thank Merlin for that! Before the Professor answered, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in, Lily," he said calmly. The door opened and Lily grinned up at me.

"Gryffindor, ay? I knew it!" She said proudly. I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Well, Miss Lewis, you may return with Lily to Gryffindor Tower, where your bags will be waiting for you," Dumbledore said formally. I turned to him and smiled brightly.

"Thank you sir," I said. "Goodnight!" And with a nod, he shooed us out the door and we were on our way to Gryffindor Tower. Wherever the hell that was.


End file.
